“Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth.  I came not to send peace, but a sword.”

Matthew 10:34 KJV

This statement of Jesus is startling.  One of His titles is “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
And He also promised to give His followers His peace (John 14:27).   Bult He also warns His followers that if we follow Him, there will be no peace.  That sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it?

The reality is that while the followers of Jesus will truly experience His peace in their personal lives, the very peace we experience through the cross will produce conflict. The cross of Christ and the peace that He provides creates a divide between light and darkness.  That divide will also produce hostility toward those who follow Christ.

Many times that hostility is initially experienced by family members who either do not understand or do not want us to become followers of Christ. But this hostility is also expressed from the culture at large.  As America continues to abandon Biblical Truth that hostility will intensify. 

But the good news of the Gospel is that in the midst  of the conflict we still have His peace!  And it is His peace and His cross that overcomes the darkness!  Although the enemies of Christ may rage against us, Christ has already overcome them (Col.2: 13-15).  And because we are in Christ (Gal,. 2:20), He has made us more than conquerors (Ro.8:37).  All we have to do in the midst of conflict is to simply continue to “stand” in Him and for Him (Eph. 6:13). He provides the power and ability to do that (Phil.4:13).   It is impossible for the darkness to overcome the Light (John 8:12).  Therefore, we can stand and rest in His peace no matter what may come!   For He is with us (Hebrews 13:5)! 

Rev. James W. Black